The invention relates generally to power supplies. More specifically, the present invention relates to a regulated power supply that can be incorporated into an integrated circuit.
Miniaturization and integration are ongoing trends in integrated circuits. Semiconductor fabrication techniques are used to produce integrated circuits having millions of transistors on a single chip. With each year that passes, the number of transistors is increased.
High voltage power supplies for integrated circuits, however, have been difficult to miniaturize. Traditional magnetic-based voltage transformers are too large in size, as they cannot be scaled down for incorporation into integrated circuits. Voltage doublers are also too large, as they typically need too many stages to generate a high voltage (e.g., 100 volts) from a low voltage (e.g., 5 volts). Piezoelectric transformers can provide stepped up voltages on a millimeter scale; however, they are still too large in size to be incorporated into integrated circuits.
Field-emitting memory devices, radiation detection sensors and many other chip-based devices are usually operated at high voltages. Many of these devices could be dramatically reduced in size if their power supplies could be miniaturized sufficiently for incorporation into integrated circuits.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a regulated power supply includes a pyroelectric capacitor. Such a power supply can be incorporated into an integrated circuit. Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, illustrating by way of example the principles of the invention.